Joan W. Miller, MD
243 Charles Street
Boston, MA 02114
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(617) 573-3526 office
Professional Affiliations
Academic Appointments- David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
- Chief of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
- Chief of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Biography
Joan W. Miller, MD, is David Glendenning Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. She also serves as Chief of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital. A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Miller completed her medical training and residency training in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Additionally, Dr. Miller conducted a research fellowship and a clinical fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
Dr. Miller’s current clinical and research interests focus on retinal disorders, including age related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. She and her colleagues at Mass. Eye and Ear pioneered the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using verteporfin (Visudyne®), the first pharmacologic therapy for AMD able to reduce and slow vision loss. The group also identified the importance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ocular neovascularization, forming the scientific basis of current antiangiogenic therapies for neovascular AMD. While these therapies have greatly improved the outlook for patients with AMD, Dr. Miller and her colleagues continue investigations to elucidate the molecular pathophysiology of vision loss and develop improved therapies for retinal disease.
Dr. Miller has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers, 50 book chapters and review articles, is co-editor of the third edition of Albert and Jakobiec’s Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology, and is a named inventor on nine U.S. patents and five Canadian patents. She has received numerous awards, including the Rosenthal Award and Donald J. Gass Medal of the Macula Society, the Retina Research Award from the Club Jules Gonin, the Alcon Research Institute Award, the ARVO/Pfizer Ophthalmic Translational Research Award, the Founder’s Award from the American Society of Retinal Specialists, the Suzanne Veronneau-Troutman Award from Women in Ophthalmology, the Paul Henkind Memorial Award from the Macula Society, and the Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Miller delivered the prestigious LXIX Edward Jackson Memorial Lecture at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She was elected to the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis in 2013.